Mother and daughter talk
by StrawberrySab
Summary: Grace tries to fix something that got broken in her mother's life. Sorry, I can't come up with a better summary...
1. Chapter 1

**The latest episode left me devastated. I'm trying to get over it in all the ways I can. Vidding, writing, whatever helps. I need some optimism now, so I decided to have Grace fix what she basically broke. Sorry, it might be full of mistakes, I basically wrote it down in three minutes, I had let it all out.**

**I hope you will enjoy it and feel a little better too.**

The last two weeks had been a total breakdown. Alicia knew she did the right thing, she needed to concentrate on her kids, give them the full attention they had lacked of lately. But she felt empty, alone, still devastated after the break-up. It hit her harder than she thought it would. Every time her eyes casually met Will's eyes in the firm, she had to watch away to avoid tearing up. When she couldn't, she would just run and have a good cry in the bathroom.

Just when things were finally starting to be good again, just when she started to feel good again, everything crashed down on her, once again. And what made that worse, it was her own decision. She needed to clear the mess in her life and take time for herself. She needed to make clear what she really wanted.

Then why did she feel so bad? Why all these tears? She knew the answer, but she kept on ignoring it, because it would only make things even harder.

The last two weeks had been the worst of his life. Will knew it was the right thing, he needed to concentrate on his career, on the investigation, he needed to protect himself, and to protect her by not involving her in the mess that was about to shake his life. But he felt empty, alone, still devastated after the break-up. Every time his eyes casually met Alicia's eyes in the firm, he had to watch away, pretending he was busy reading papers, or pretending he didn't see her watching him back at all.

Just when things were finally starting to be good, just when he realized he was ready for commitment, and he was sure of that, now that he finally had her, now that he knew how it was like to be with her, he had lost her. Things would never be right for them, that was all he could think about. The timing would never be right for them. It was never supposed to be and in his heart, he always knew it.

Then why did he feel so bad? Why all the pain? He knew the answer, but he kept on ignoring it, because it would only make things even harder.

Alicia had started to work less hours, she loved to get home early, cook a decent dinner for her and for the kids. It was a nice distraction, it was the only moment when her thoughts could concentrate on something which wasn't Will. She was in the living room with Zach and Grace, eating home-made pizza, for once something not frozen or ready-to-eat. Both kids helped her and they had a lot of fun, leaving the kitchen a total mess. But she had a good laugh, something she had missed in the last two weeks. At 8 Zach left, he had a date with Neesa. "Don't be late. And if you do, call me, ok?" she was always a little worried after that _accident_ with Grace, she needed to make sure she always knew where her kids were, every single minute. "I won't be late, I promise. Good night" and he left.

There were few minutes of silence, as Alicia and Grace sat alone in front of the almost empty plates. Both lost in her thoughts, they got brought back to reality by Alicia's cell phone ringing. Grace noticed the name on the screen. Alicia took the phone, let out a deep breath before pressing the red button. If it was work, they had agreed on no more late urgencies, so he wasn't supposed to call. And if it wasn't… well, she wasn't ready to discuss anything else.

"Was it Will?" Grace broke the silence. "Yes, he was." She started to toy with the piece of pizza left in her plate, not looking at her daughter in the eyes. She was afraid that if she did, she might give away to much of how she was feeling about it. Grace went on, tentatively. "Did you… break up? With him?" Alicia was caught by surprise. It wasn't the first time that Grace mentioned Will, but it was the first time that she was so direct in her questions. "How do you know?" She tried to avoid answering. "Zach heard some people talk, at your firm… Did you break up?" She should have expected it, having Zach helping her out at work was risky. And here they were. She thought about the conversation they had months ago, about being honest to each other. She hadn't been honest with her kids in long time, she tried to keep too many things hidden, and now the pieces were coming back together. "Yeah, we did." she said it a soft voice, looking down. It still hurt. "Was it because of me?" Grace was just starting to realize that everything happened after that day, she started to feel guilty. Alicia noticed her look and tried to reassure. "No no no, it was…" What was it? Guilt? Fear? She didn't know herself, how was she supposed to explain it to her daughter? "It was just… getting complicated…"

she smiled at her daughter, a sweet but sad smile. She felt somehow uncomfortable, discussing her miserable love life with her daughter. She couldn't help but think that things were supposed to be the other way around. And this made her smile. Grace kept starting at her mother, still not satisfied with her answers. "Do you miss him?" Alicia looked briefly at her, not sure what to answer. She had tried to avoid thinking about it and here she was, her daughter was basically forcing her to face her feelings. She looked back at the phone, still in her hands, and softly said… "I do….", then looked up at Grace and went on, "but it's ok, I'll get over it… it's… ok." Grace smiled at her mom, but she could see how hurt she was. "We should clean all the mess we left in the kitchen. Will you help me?" Alicia said it, starting to head towards the kitchen. "Yes, just give me a minute" Grace was thoughtful. "Ok."

After making sure that her mother was gone, Grace took her cell phone.

One minute later, Will was still in his office, looking outside the window, lost in thought. He didn't want to go home. He missed their late talks, he missed their teasing on the phone, he missed going to sleep thinking about her, about them together. It just hurt. He heard his cell phone beeping and took it to check the incoming message. It was Alicia. He stared at the name for a moment, before finding the strenght to read it. "We need to talk. Meet me at my place in half an hour. I miss you." His heart started to throb. He didn't even give himself the time to think. He grabbed his coat and was out of his office in seconds.

tbc…


	2. Chapter 2

Alicia and Grace were busy cleaning the kitchen when they heard the doorbell ring. They exchanged looks wondering who could be, until a thought crossed Alicia's mind "Zach must have forgotten his keys home". "Probably" Grace let out a smile, "you go, I can finish here". Alicia gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead, "Ok, thank you."

She went to open the door, expecting it to be Zach. While still opening she started "You are back ear….ly." Her mouth was open in surprise. "Will…" There he was, in front of her door. "I-I…" she gave a quick glance back to check on Grace then looked at him again. "What are you doing here?" she shook her head slightly. "I got your message." She gave him a questioning look, she had no idea what he was talking about. "What message? I didn't…" "You asked me to come, said we needed to talk." They both stood there for a moment, trying to understand what was going on. Then Alicia remembered the earlier conversation with Grace. She looked towards the kitchen, a smile of disbelief of her face, then looked back at Will. "I'm sorry, you had to come here for nothing. Grace sent it. I didn't." They both looked down, neither strong enough to meet the other's eyes. Will was hurt, again, she was turning him down. Things hadn't changed. He had just deluded himself for the millionth time. "So, that's all…" he said looking away. "That's all." she confirmed looking down. He couldn't even say goodbye, nothing came to his mind worth being said. He just tapped slightly on the wall, slightly nodded, more to himself, than turned around. She stood there, door still open, watching him leave. He could feel her gaze on him as he was there waiting for the elevator, but couldn't look back. It was too painful. She felt bad. After their break-up, things were so awkward; in spite of their attempts to keep things natural, they had basically spent the last weeks trying to avoid each other. She wasn't sure she could stand anymore of that. She missed their intimacy, their closeness, how they had always been so at ease with each other. Their relationship was crumbling away, their close friendship seemed a long lost memory. She woke up from her own thoughts, when she heard the elevator bell.

"Will!" she stepped out and closed the door behind her. Will stood there, not watching back, staring at the elevator doors closing in front of him, waiting for her to say something. "I don't want this... I don't like this...". He was still facing the elevator. "You don't like what, Alicia?". She was having a hard time finding the right words. "I… I don't like this coldness, I don't like avoiding each other, I don't like not talking anymore like we used to, I don't like having you out of my life, but I had to do it, Will. It was wrong, it was the wrong moment, and I…". Will didn't gave her the time to say more, he turned around and faced her, getting closer. "It's always the wrong moment, Alicia, it has always been the wrong moment with you, not because it is, but because you are just afraid of making it the right moment." He had just made a hit. "I'm not afraid, Will, I 'm just trying to understand what I want, something I haven't had the time to do in the last years." She paused, trying to find the words, again. Grace was right after all, they really needed to talk. "I liked what we had, I liked it… being with you… it's something that made me feel good… you made me feel good, like I hadn't in a long time… but I can't do that. I always feel this sense of guilt for taking time away from the kids. They had been through a lot, Will… these last three years were devastating for them. They need me… I can't keep on living two lives and pretend it's ok, because it's not." Will was staring at her. One of the main reasons why he loved her so much was one of the main reasons why things were so difficult between them. She was always trying to do the right thing, as a woman, as a mother, as a wife. He got closer, he was just a step from her. "Then stop it…" it was all he could say. Alicia looked at him, questioningly. She couldn't get what he meant. "Stop what?". He was swearing to himself that this was his last attempt. It was now or it was never. "Stop pretending. Stop leaving two lives. Just try and let them fade into each other." His voice was sweet, almost pleading. She couldn't say anything. She simply stood there, waiting for him to finish. He was right. She was afraid, but she felt that if she stopped him now, it would probably be the last time. "Give us a chance, let me into your life, let me into their life. They already know about us, what do you fear?". What did she fear? She didn't know herself for sure. "I don't know… so many things scare me, Will… being hurt again, losing you, losing our friendship, losing control of my life again, seeing the kids suffer again, because every mistake I do, has repercussions on them too…" Will was so close to her, their foreheads nearly touching. "Then I'll make sure that this won't be a mistake. Don't say no, Alicia." He closed his eyes, getting ready for another brush-off. Instead, he felt her lips on his. He opened his eyes to see a single tear falling from her eyes. He wiped it away with a finger while slightly brushing her cheek. "Don't let this be a mistake, please…". "I promise." He held her close, missing feeling her body wrapped in his arms. It was the right thing. And it was finally the right moment.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's notes: First of all, thanks to all of you for the amazing reviews, they were really appreciated and they represent the best encouragement for a writer (well, a sort of writer…). This was supposed to be the final chapter but I realized that the story is still incomplete so I'll go with a further one.**

**And thanks to Osage for helping with this chapter: you are the most incredible beta I could ever dream to work with!**

* * *

><p>It was just a dinner. Nothing more. Just a dinner. The kids, herself… and Will. Alicia kept repeating to herself that everything would be fine and it was just a dinner. After giving the pasta a quick check, she inspected the table, flattening a wrinkle from the cloth atop it. She wanted everything to be perfect. She kept on checking every single detail, trying not to think about it. But she was scared. It was the first "official" dinner and she was not quite sure how it would end. Both Grace and Zach seemed to have accepted her new relationship but Alicia knew that it wasn't that easy.<p>

It's one thing to accept that your mother has decided to move on with her life, but it's a totally different story when you're expected to interact with somebody who is taking your father's place in her life.

She was afraid of their impressions, afraid they might not like him or get along. She was going to turn their lives upside down once again by letting someone new into their lives. And once he was in, it would be very hard to step back if something were to go wrong. This thought was scaring her even more, she started to wonder if she was doing the right thing, so many things were worrying her when Zach snapped her from her thoughts.

"Mom, the bell rang… want me to get it?" Zach asked placing two glasses on the table.

Alicia looked at her son, suddenly brought back to reality. "No, I got it, thanks." She gave one last look at the table and went to open the door, as the bell rang again.

* * *

><p>It was just a dinner. Nothing more. Just a dinner. Alicia, himself…and the kids. Will kept repeating to himself that everything would be fine, that it was just a dinner, as the elevator was riding up to her apartment floor. He wanted everything to be perfect. He kept on repeating in his mind all the possible topics for discussion. He was scared. It was the first "official" dinner and he wanted to impress them. In a good way. He knew it wasn't easy for them, seeing their mother move on with someone who wasn't their father, someone they really didn't know. Alicia's words about Zach and Grace were still echoing in his mind, they had been through a lot over the last years and thinking about the possible negative consequences of his relationship with Alicia suddenly made him feel selfish and uncomfortable. What if something was to go wrong between them? What if they had the illusion of a new family and see it break down again? So many things were worrying him, when the ding of the elevator snapped him from his thoughts. He stepped out, heading to the front door of Alicia's apartment and stood there for a moment. "It's just a dinner" he repeated to himself one last time before ringing the doorbell. Now there was officially no turning back.<p>

* * *

><p>Alicia opened the door. Will was standing there, a nervous smile, a bottle of good wine in one hand and a package in the other.<p>

"Hey," she said. She was nervous and could easily see that Will felt the same way.

"Hey," he replied. He leaned forward to kiss her then suddenly stepped back after seeing Zach peeping out from the kitchen. "I brought some wine, then I thought the kids might not appreciate it, so I brought a cheesecake too."

Alicia laughed. "Cheesecake is good, come in." She stepped aside to let him in. "Zach, Grace, can you come here?" she called out while taking the wine and cake from Will's hands and place them on the cupboard.

Zach was the first to approach, he made a slight wave at him from the kitchen door then got closer. "Hi", he said lightly. Alicia could sense their uneasiness. She remembered their first meeting at the firm and could easily understand why, despite having already met more than once, having Will over for dinner was probably awkward for both.

"Hi Zach, nice to see you again," Will replied.

Grace was staring from the room. It was the first time she met him, all she knew about him was that he went to school with her mother. She took a couple of steps towards the living room, still looking at him.

Alicia gave her a reassuring smile. "Grace, this is Will. Will, this is Grace."

"Hi." Grace got a little closer.

"Hi Grace, nice to meet you," Will said. He sounded so genuine and for a moment the dinner didn't sound so scary anymore.

Grace smiled. Alicia couldn't help but think that the most difficult part was still to come, as she took the coat from Will before they all headed in the kitchen.

* * *

><p>The silence was a clear reflection of the tension in the room. All the good topics Will had in his mind didn't seem appropriate, he didn't know anything about them and had no idea what to discuss. All the attempts from Alicia's side to start a decent conversation were falling through the air. School, electronics, she was trying everything but the interaction was close to zero. This dinner was a total failure.<p>

"So you went to school with mom?" Zach's question came out of nowhere.

Will looked at him and smiled. That question brought back a lot of memories, including their first dinner two years ago, when they had pizza and beer in Alicia's office remembering old times. "Yes, back in Georgetown." He looked at Alicia and smiled at her.

"How was she?" Zach asked, the pasta on his plate forgotten as he looked to them with amused attention.

Alicia gave Zack a serious look. "Ok, we are not going there, are we?"

Zach laughed. "Why not? You got some deep dark secret?"

Will looked down and tried not to laugh. "Oh, yes she has so many you wouldn't believe," Will said, smiling as he looked at Zach.

"Really?" He could practically see Zach picturing his mom being all cool, drinking and partying every night. Will couldn't help but laugh at Alicia's worried expression.

"No, not really… I'm sorry," He said with a smile, "but she was amazing, one the best students and one of the most gorgeous girls in school."

Grace was smiling, she still looked slightly uncomfortable, but seemed interested in hearing the stories of her mom's youth.

"Nahhh, he's lying, I was neither the best or the most gorgeous," Alicia said.

"You were the most gorgeous and I know you were because I saw your pictures in the college yearbook." This was the first complete sentence coming from Grace in the whole evening.

"You still have it?" Will was both shocked and curious. Alicia raised an eyebrow, then gave him a horrified look.

"No no no, don't even think about it!" Alicia warned, but Grace was already up and leaving for the guest room. "Grace, don't!"

Will was laughing. "Oh, come on! It's fun!" He couldn't believe that her kids were teaming up with him, it was priceless. He caught another one of Alicia's worried looks as the dinner started to turn against her.

Grace was back a couple of minutes later, yearbook in hand. She placed it right in front of Will, who stared for a moment at the cover before starting to flip through the class pages.

"Oh my God, it's like being brought back of 20 years in time." There were so many faces, some of them were familiar, some others he couldn't remember. Then his gaze stopped on the picture of a girl with long dark hair. She was smiling lightly and dressed in a simple white shirt. She looked so good, even in something so simple. And he still couldn't believe that now, years later, that girl was sitting right in front of him. And she was finally his. "And here you are..."

"That picture is awful," Alicia said, trying unsuccessfully to grab the yearbook from Will's hands. Will gave her an amused look, seeing how embarrassed she looked.

"No, it's beautiful, you were beautiful." He looked at her for a moment. "I mean… you still are…" They smiled at each other for a moment.

Zach pointed at a picture of the same girl busy in a tennis match. "Did you play tennis at school?"

Alicia smiled at her son, "Yes I did!"

"And she was a very good player!" Will added, remembering all the trophies lined up on the bookshelf of her dorm back at school.

"Genes don't lie, Zach is a great player too." Alicia pointed out with a proud look.

"Really?" Will looked at him.

"Yes, I won the school competition last year, and I'm a huge Federer fan. Dad brought me to the US Open few years ago, I got his ball signed." Zach said, with more than a hint of pride.

"Wow, that's cool, can I see it?" Will asked.

"Sure!" Zach replied, already heading for his room.

Will and Alicia exchanged a surprised and satisfied look before Will got up and followed Zach in his room.

* * *

><p>Sports. How could she have missed that? What other than sports could two guys bond over? She could hear them talking about Chicago Cubs and Will's pitcher years in Zach's room and smiled in happiness. They were getting along so well that she couldn't believe it.<p>

Grace was still looking at the yearbook. She pointed at a picture of a guy playing baseball. "Is that Will?"

She smiled at the memory of those times. "Yes, that's him."

She loved to sneak into his matches uninvited. He was a great pitcher and he loved to impress her whenever she was around. Alicia gave a look at her daughter. "You're being quiet." She bit her lips, not knowing if it was a good or bad sign.

Grace paused than looked at her mother. "He's not bad… I think I like him."

Alicia studied her daughter, she knew that it was hard for her but that Grace loved her enough to accept this change. "I know it's not easy for you… and I know it will take a while for all of us to adjust to this new situation. You are strong, stronger than I was when my parents divorced. And I love you. Don't ever forget that, ok?"

"I love you too, mom." Alicia hugged her, then stood up and started clearing away, leaving Grace still absorbed in the yearbook.

Alicia realized that Will and Zach's conversation was becoming longer than expected, as she heard them discussing the latest Coldplay's CD… She smiled, concluding that the dinner wasn't a total disaster after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Final chapter! Thanks again to Osage for being an amazing beta and to all of you for reading, liking and commenting!**

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

Will was sitting in his office. It was one of those crazy Monday mornings when papers needing to be signed kept piling unrelentingly as his secretary kept on walking in and out of his door every few minutes. Plus, he already got an early morning visit from Cary and his lawyer friend, whose name he didn't care to remember. Wendy Scott-Carr didn't even bother to come there and talk to him, she just left the dirty job to her henchmen. But maybe it was better that way. Having her walking around the firm would probably raise a lot of questions among the partners and staff. The less they knew about it, the better it was for both him and the firm.

Hearing a knock on his door, he didn't look up, just motioned with his right hand to leave whatever it was on the desk.

"Bad day?" The familiar voice made him glance up. Alicia was leaning against the wall, with a sweet smile that made him forget his mess of a desk.

"Hey," he said with a smile. "Not anymore. Come in." They still hadn't seen each other since after the dinner. Will's sister had invited him over on Sunday and Alicia took a personal day to spend time with some old friend from Highland Park.

"So, it wasn't that bad, was it?" she asked. He looked at her for a while, not understanding what she was talking about. He gave her a questioning look, to which Alicia replied clarifying "I meant… the dinner".

"Oh," with all the thoughts he had totally forgotten about it. Damn. He could see the concerned look Alicia gave him and tried to mislead her with a smile, unsuccessfully.

"I'm sorry, there are so many things going on today and I just…" he couldn't finish the sentence.

"Is everything ok?" Alicia asked him. He caught her worried look. "Sure," he answered, "Just some things I need to sort out."

"Things I might help you with?" Alicia asked tentatively.

Will noticed that she didn't seem totally convinced and tried to reassure her. "No, I don't think so. But it's nothing, really." In that moment Will's phone rang. Things didn't seem to slow down, he thought while picking up the receiver. "We'll talk later, ok?" he asked Alicia.

"Ok," she replied with a slightly disappointed smile, before leaving his office.

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

Will seemed so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice her stopping few steps outside his office and looking back to him with concern. He said he was ok, but was he really? Alicia had overheard a conversation between Diane and David Lee the previous week, she heard Wendy Scott-Carr's name and that was enough for her to worry. She knew the woman back from Peter's campaign and whatever she was up to, it wasn't good.

She was starting to head to her office when her cell phone rang. It was her secretary. "Alicia, I'm sorry to bother you but there is a person at the reception saying he needs to talk to you. It's Cary Agos."

Alicia stopped halfway, caught off-guard by the unexpected visit and headed back downstairs for the reception.

"Hey Alicia," he said.

"Hey Cary," she replied, wondering the reason of his visit. "This is a surprise, is there something I can do for you?" she asked.

Cary was looking at her with a serious gaze. "Actually yes. I'm here to give you this," he said, handling her an envelope.

She took it from his hands, wondering what it was about, until she recognized the familiar mark: it was from the State's Attorney's office. She gave Cary a questioning look, as she was trying to understand the meaning.

"What… what does it mean?" she kept on shifting her gaze from the envelope to Cary, back to the envelope again.

Cary seemed concerned as he started to talk. "You have been called to testify in the case of Illinois' State versus Will Gardner."

She couldn't say anything. For a moment she just stood there, mouth open, pondering his words. Did she hear correctly? Testify? Case? Things were slightly starting to become clearer, as she was putting together all the pieces.

Alicia didn't say anything, just gave Cary a look full of anger before running the stairs up to Will's office. But when she got there, he was gone. She looked around, to see if he was somewhere in sight. His coat wasn't there anymore. He must have left.

As she started to dial his number on her cell phone, she realized the envelope was still in her hands, still closed. She started to open it, both concerned and nervous, her hands slightly trembling as she read. Her eyes caught some words: "judicial bribery", "indictment", "Grand Jury". She started to search for a date: February 3rd, 2012. It was in three days. She was called to testify in three days.

She started to panic. She needed to call him, and they needed to talk right now. Her head spun as defense strategies mixed with the feelings of hurt when she realized how long he's kept her in the dark. She dialed the familiar number but his cell phone was off.

She saw Diane in her office and went straight there. "Where is Will?" Diane looked up at her but didn't reply. "Diane, please, I need to talk to him. I've just been given this…" She gave Diane the letter, hoping she would understand and help her.

She watched as Diane put her glasses on, read few lines and gave her the letter back, still silent. Alicia was staring at her, worried. Will was in trouble, way more than he wanted her to believe. Diane looked up at Alicia, who was waiting for some reply. "He's in court. He had a deposition at 10 a.m."

She didn't think twice. She rushed out of her office, then suddenly stopped and turned back. "Thank you," she said to Diane, who replied with a slight smile. She headed down to the parking, got into her car and drove to court.

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

Will was pacing back and forth down the wide hallway in front of the courtroom, like a lamb waiting to be executed and served on an Easter day. He couldn't help but think that the worst was about to happen, he was about to lose everything he'd been working for his entire life, his firm, his career, his job, his whole life would be put on hold for this. He suddenly felt so vulnerable and alone.

"Will!" he heard a familiar voice and turned around to see Alicia running towards him. He smiled before it hit him. If she was here, then that meant she knew, the game was up.

She stopped a couple of steps from him. Will noticed the letter in her hands and realized what had happened. He suddenly felt guilty. He had spent weeks trying to avoid it, trying to avoid getting Alicia involved, pretending he could go through all of it alone. And there she was. He had dragged her into his mess. He couldn't even look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry…" he started, looking down at his own feet.

"Will, no…" Alicia stopped him. He could see the concern in her eyes, as she kept talking in a soft voice. "When did this start?" she asked.

He didn't have the courage to tell her that he'd been hiding it from her for so long, but at this point, he couldn't lie anymore. He knew that she needed to know the truth. "Two months" he replied in a whisper, half expecting an angry reaction from her but instead, she was looking at him, as if pondering his words. It wasn't that difficult for him to see that she was doing the math.

"Two months?" she looked away. Will could see that she was hurt, as she looked back at him and their eyes finally met again.

"I should have told you." He should have told her when she asked him what was going on the very first time. He should have told her when she asked him again few days later if there was something wrong. He should have told her at least one of the several times when she asked him what was worrying him. But he didn't. For two long months he tried to convince himself that he could leave her out of this, that he could handle everything alone. And now here she was, asked to testify in his process.

"Will, it's ok… I mean, we broke up, you didn't owe me any explanation." Yes, they had broken up. She had broken up with him right when things were starting to get serious with the investigation. Well, not that at the time he had meant to tell her anyway.

"No. I should have, because we were together. I just… I didn't want to make your life more complicated than it already was. I didn't want you to feel somehow responsible or forced to use your… connections." He knew very well that, had he told her, she'd probably gone to Peter and ask him to stop. He didn't want it, he didn't want her to feel used. He didn't want her to feel just a means to take him out of something he alone got himself into.

Members of the jury were starting to arrive and take place inside the courtroom. It wasn't the right place to talk about it. They both looked away as one of the members gave them a look while passing beside them. Alicia turned around as if searching for something.

"Follow me," she said, not giving him an option as she grabbed his arm and lead them away.

Will followed her into a room with an "Authorized staff only" sign. He closed the door behind them, trying his best not to let her gentle hold on his arm slip away. It was all that kept him grounded now. Alicia stood there for a moment, looking down and playing with a button on his cuff, before starting to talk.

"Will, whatever happens… I'm with you. I'm with you in this. And I'll do whatever it takes to help you, even if it means… having to use my connections." Her voice was low, barely a whisper. He knew it was not going to be easy, he knew the huge sacrifice that was for her to put her pride aside and talk Peter into stopping this. But he knew too, that whatever he could say, it wouldn't stop her from doing it anyway.

"I don't want you to do it, Alicia…" he paused, searching for the right words as he closed his hand around her small nervous one. "It will probably only make it worse. Peter knows about us, there's no way he will stop, not even if you ask him to." He knew that it was no use, he didn't want her to end up being caught in a sort of compromise with Peter, he didn't want her to owe him anything. He tried to convey that with a light caress of his thumb over her palm, hoping against hope that she would listen just this once.

"I have to at least try and talk to him," she replied, looking slightly resigned as she stared at their now entwined hands.

There was no talking her out of this. But she was trying to help and that had to count for something. "Thank you." It was all he could say.

"For what?" Alicia asked him with a questioning look. "I didn't do anything."

He smiled at her, a sweet smile, his gaze fixed on her eyes. "You're here," he simply said.

Alicia brought their hands to his chest before leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

"I am here," she said, slightly nodding as she snaked her hands up and around his shoulders. "I'm not going anywhere."

Will gave her an adoring smile before leaning in to kiss her again, murmuring another thank you against her mouth. She was there for him, he didn't need anything else. Whatever was going to happen, he had her by his side.

The End.


End file.
